“Reparations from Germany are necessary and the President certainly agrees with this view”, said the newly appointed head of the Presidential Office for International Policy, Marcin Przydacz. He reminded that the work on reparations is the domain of the government, but “the presidential centre will not completely run away from this topic, because it is important for Poland and Poles, as during World War II we lost millions of our citizens and suffered huge losses in infrastructure”.

When asked about the National Reconstruction Plan, Minister Przydacz said that he did not know whether Brussels was negotiating in good faith on this matter. “We are conducting negotiations in good faith, because we believe that KPO funds are needed by Poland, but equality and a kind of fairness in terms of principles and the absence of double standards are also important from the perspective of the future of the European project. It cannot be so that partners from the western part of Europe are treated differently from those from the eastern part. This is how it is today”, he stressed.

Referring to the amendment of the law on the Supreme Court, which may unblock the payment of EU funds, Przydacz pointed out that the President has repeatedly said that the decision to sign a bill is made when it reaches his desk. Then political and legal analyses will be made leading to the appropriate decision. At this point, the legislative process is still underway in parliament.

At the same time, he recalled that President Duda engaged in dialogue with Brussels back in the spring in order to create the conditions for obtaining money from the KPO, as this money is important, especially in the current geopolitical situation. “At that time, there was a proposed draft sent to the parliament, which, as a result of various amendments, was changed to such an extent that it did not ultimately lead to a positive outcome”, explained Przydacz.